That 'Secret Sisters Gift Exchange' going around Facebook is a scam

If it sounds too good to be true to receive 36 gifts in return for a $10 investment, that's because it is.

The "Secret Sisters Gift Exchange" has been making the rounds on Facebook, purporting that participants will receive 36 presents in exchange for sending out one gift. However, not only is it a scam, it's also illegal.

The Secret Santa-style exchange seems feasible enough in theory: six participants invite six more participants, who all send gifts to the person in the #1 slot before that person's name is removed. The process is then repeated with the person in the #2 slot, and so on.

A Facebook user participates in the "Secret Sister" exchange.

However, it comes with a catch — you have to divulge personal information like home addresses in order to receive said gifts, running the risk that someone could send you a not-so-nice gift in the mailbox.

Not only that, the process can be classified as a pyramid scam, an illegal business model in which one person (the Facebook poster in slot #1 in this scenario) recruits others to make an investment (paid to the original recruiter. The new people must then recruit more people themselves in order to make their money or turn a profit, hence creating more bases in a pyramid.

“This is a typical pyramid scheme. We’re just seeing this on Facebook this time instead of the old way of using letters, and Facebook allows it to spread a lot faster," Kelli Burns, an associate professor of mass communications at the University of South Florida, told WRIC, a local ABC affiliate.

It's impossible for the cycle to sustain itself forever; somewhere along the line, people will lose money. In a seemingly infinite chain, it becomes more difficult to keep track of who actually sends out gifts and who doesn't. And let's face it: What are the chances that you'll actually receive all 36 presents you were promised?

The process is similar to chain letters, which are illegal by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service's standards.

“There’s at least one problem with chain letters. They’re illegal if they request money or other items of value and promise a substantial return to the participants," according to the Inspection Service.

"Chain letters are a form of gambling, and sending them through the mail (or delivering them in person or by computer, but mailing money to participate violates Title 18, United States Code, Section 1302, the Postal Lottery Statute. Chain letters that ask for items of minor value, like picture postcards or recipes, may be mailed, since such items are not things of value within the meaning of the law.”

Facebook did not immediately respond to Mashable's request for comment.

While it might seem tempting to spread the holiday cheer, be wary. Schemes that sound like too much of a good thing usually are.

Mashable
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